Woman spared jail for killing son

A mentally-ill woman who strangled her severely disabled son with a belt in a hotel room has been spared an immediate prison term.

Yvonne Freaney, 50, was cleared of murdering 11-year-old Glen but convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

After strangling her son, who was autistic, the domestic violence victim - whose three other children were also disabled - then tried to commit suicide.

At Cardiff Crown Court, Freaney, who had moved out of the family home in Penarth and was staying at the Sky Plaza hotel in Rhoose, was given a three-year supervision order for killing Glen.

A judge agreed with psychiatrists that Freaney's culpability was very low and she had acted out of sheer desperation.

Mr Justice Wyn Williams described the case as extremely sad and the most difficult he had dealt with. He agreed with the defence that sending Freaney to prison was not in her best interests - and she had effectively been in custody since her arrest more than two years ago.

He told her: "There can be no doubt that you were absolutely devoted to your son. I found this sentencing the most difficult one I have ever undertaken.

"You had a personality disorder and suffered from a very severe abnormality of the mind. The series of events you went through would have been difficult for even a person of robust personality. Your culpability, in my judgment, was very low."

Mr Justice Williams said he wanted to make it clear the taking of a life was a very "serious issue" - even when a plea of diminished responsibility was accepted by the court. However, he said there were several and "substantial mitigating factors" in this case.

Freaney was made the subject of a 36-month supervision order - in which she will have to fully co-operate with her psychiatrist and live in a residence approved by the Probation Service, the location of which is banned by court order from being published. Furthermore, Freaney is also prevented from having any unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 18.